Yesterday was my “re-birthday”. It marked 22 years since one of the darkest days of my life. It turned out to be the turning point that actually saved my life. It was the first day of the 8,036 days I’ve spent sober. It was also the lowest point of my depression. Hubby #2 had long since emotionally checked out of our marriage and I had no idea how I was going to survive without him. That night…22 years ago…I overdosed on two full bottles of pills and could easily have died. 

I finished the first sock yesterday. I had two skeins…one per sock. I nearly ran out of the first skein and it took me a bit to figure out what I did wrong. I followed the pattern precisely, but I think I could have made the top a good two inches shorter. Then the foot could be longer. But, as it is, these will fit Little perfectly. Tiny feet! A perfect Valentine’s treat!

I’m making great progress on knitting these socks. You can do that when you sit down and knit for several hours a day. I’m enjoying learning a new technique, and once I got the rhythm down using a single 32” circular needle, I realized my friend Gail was right. I probably won’t go back to knitting socks any other way. Turning the heel was an entirely different proposition altogether and, again, I am SO glad The Crazy Sock Lady filmed an entire tutorial of knitting the sock from start to finish. I am a visual learner, so watching it being done on a video that I could pause while I caught up was extremely helpful.

Mr. FixIt does odd jobs for friends and family from time to time. Yesterday, one of his friends needed a new medicine cabinet installed in his bathroom. It’s an old house and anyone who has worked on old houses can tell you…there are seldom square corners and measurements are somewhat haphazard. Thus was the case on what has turned into a two day job when the new cabinet wouldn’t fit into the old hole. He’ll go back today with the proper tools and make the hole bigger to accommodate the new cabinet.

I seem to always borrow knitting needles from my dear friend, Gail. It happens when we are camping together. Why? Because, she either hands me a skein of alpaca that she just spun, or she is making something much cuter than what I am making, or I’m bored and need something to keep my hands busy. I’m like a kid in that way. I need something to do, most of the time.

We were thrilled to have absolutely nothing to do yesterday. As a matter of fact, we went to bed before the ball dropped. We decided 2022 needed to come in on tippy-toes without a big fuss as far as we were concerned. We lay in bed and followed our nightly ritual of watching funny videos. We didn’t even know what time it was…then we heard a loud “bang” and looked at the clock. Sure enough, the old year had slipped away quietly and the new year took its place without a lot of fanfare, save for a kiss…for Auld Lang Syne.

I think it’s rather fitting that, on the last day of what was probably one of our most challenging years since WWII…God would take Betty home. I think those who really enjoyed Betty White’s sassy sense of humor truly wish we could have helped her celebrate her 100th birthday. Then again, maybe she just knew when it was time to make a graceful exit. 

I had one of the most amazing experiences yesterday…and in the days leading up to it. We’ve talked here a lot about anxiety and PTSD. I cannot remember a time since Mr. Virgo died that I didn’t experience incredible, sometimes debilitating anxiety before any medical event. When I was here in the big city to get my 4D CT Scan on October 14th, I spent the night before in the hotel room throwing up from anxiety. This time was completely different.

Oh, my…I have to say, it was wonderful sleeping in the camper Wednesday night! Rain…from torrential downpour to gentle tapping, I was treated to nature’s lullaby most of the night. I had the heat adjusted perfectly. Just enough to keep the chill off my arms but not so much that I felt heat blowing in my face. I hate that. And the electric blanket was so nice turned on low…keeping my tootsies toasty. 

I was totally prepared to sleep in the camper on Monday night. I was all settled in with my electric blanket and my writing implements. I listened to the rain on the roof and all was right with the world. Then…at 11:30, my phone rang. The caller ID said RoboCall so I didn’t pick up. There was a voicemail and it turned out to be the electric company. Earlier in the evening when it was raining hard, there was a flicker in the electric. The microwave clock reset and beeped when the power came back on. I didn’t think anything of it. This happens all the time in the country. We have an ancient power grid that they are constantly working on to upgrade. Anyway, the message said that sometime between 12:30 and 3:30am the power would be off for an emergency repair.